Can I ask for platonic Ogiwara and Mochida (Ogiwara's captain in middle school) about their relationship since the third year Nationals, when Ogiwara quit, and going to the same school together in high school. I just think these two also need some love, not much was seen in the anime, but I love their friendship. Thank you! ^^
Closed in a tight fist, his hand hesitated in front of the doorway. He could feel a bead of sweat making its way down the back of his neck and the lump in his throat getting a little thicker. Ogiwara tried to swallow it, force it down and away, but the effort proved futile. He was standing in front of the doorway to his school’s gym and, if the shaking if his hand had anything to prove, he was nervous.
“Maybe I shouldn’t,” he muttered to himself, lowering his fist. One foot moved to take a step back, turn himself in the opposite direction. He couldn’t get back in there.
“Where are you heading off to so fast?”
A voice cut through the air, slightly muffled as it came from the opposite side of the wall. Ogiwara looked around and noticed the window nearby, a familiar face standing behind it and staring at him. There was a grin, one he hadn’t seen in a long time, on the other male’s face.
“Wait right there,” Mochida instructed.
Like instinct or old habit or whatever you wanted to call it, Ogiwara found himself obeying. He stood stalk still in front of the doorway to the gym, anticipating the doors opening wide to reveal the basketball court behind. He didn’t have to imagine it for long, Mochida only taking a few seconds to swing the doors to their max range.
“What’s up?” Mochida’s greeting was warm and just as easy as Ogiwara remembered it being in the past. “What’s going on that you came all the way here for?”
Suddenly Ogiwara was feeling a bit bashful, shame creeping up his spine. It had been a long time since he’d walked away from a court, swearing to never play again, and yet here he was now. His eyes panned down to the pavement below, the toe of his shoe scuffing along the ground in a patterned motion. He couldn’t just ask, could he?
Mochida wasn’t slow and he knew exactly what was going on. “It’s bit late in the year, don’t you think?”
Of course it was too late to join again. Ogiwara flinched, realizing his mistake as he felt Mochida’s hand come down on his shoulder.
“Come inside. I’ll introduce you to the team.”
Meeting with Mochida’s eyes, Ogiwara could easily see the smile and look of relief in them.
“It’s good to see you coming back,” Mochida confessed. “Come on in.”